Khadgar is one of the most powerful wizards to have ever lived. He was the apprentice for the Last Guardian, Medivh, and went on to become one of the greatest heroes of the Alliance during the Second War and as a commander of the Alliance Expedition to Draenor. His name is dwarven and means "trust".[2] This gave him an odd dichotomy with Medivh, whose name means "keeper of secrets" in Thalassian.

Contents

Biography

Apprenticeship with Medivh

At the young age of 17, Khadgar was sent by the Kirin Tor to apprentice under the wizard Medivh in his tower at Karazhan. At first, Khadgar believed Medivh to be nothing more than he appeared to be — a kindly, old, if slightly eccentric wizard — but it wasn't long before he discovered Medivh was actually a Guardian of Tirisfal, a lineage of incredibly powerful wizards empowered by a council to combat the forces of the Burning Legion. Soon after he began to sense something was drastically wrong with his master, though he never suspected that Medivh was actually being controlled by Sargeras, the Dark Titan, he became suspicious of his master's actions and motives.[3]

Eventually, he unraveled Medivh's plot to open a portal between Azeroth and Draenor, after meeting a Horde emissary, the half-orc assassin Garona. Knowing it was already too late to stop the Dark Portal from opening further, Khadgar and Garona rushed to King Llane Wrynn of Azeroth for help. The pair, along with Lord Anduin Lothar and a group of soldiers, returned to Karazhan to find Medivh in psychic link with the orc warlockGul'dan. Khadgar managed to best his master and Sargeras by plunging a sword into Medivh's heart, but not before becoming cursed with frailty and old age. By the end of the events of Last Guardian, Khadgar had gone from a young adult to an old man with a great white beard.

The Second War

Following Medivh's death and the fall of Stormwind to the orcs, Khadgar fled north with Lord Lothar and the rest of the refugees to Lordaeron. He spent the Second War fighting with the Alliance of Lordaeron, all the while studying Medivh's spells and the nature of the Dark Portal. When the tide of the war turned and the Alliance managed to push the Horde back to the Portal itself, Khadgar attempted to destroy the Dark Portal, effectively severing the link between Azeroth and Draenor. The rift between worlds remained, however. To guard against a second attack from Draenor, Khadgar oversaw the construction of Nethergarde Keep in the Blasted Lands.

The Alliance Expedition

Khadgar's fears would be validated only a year after Nethergarde's completion, when the portal opened again, and orc forces began pouring out, striking strategically to steal powerful artifacts. Fearing a second invasion, Khadgar led an Alliance Expedition to the orc homeworld, where he quickly discovered that the situation was even worse than he had feared. The orcs, under the leadership of the shamanNer'zhul, were planning on opening doorways to new worlds for the Horde to plunder. Unable to stop Ner'zhul from opening his portals, and unable to contain the terrible energies that were unleashed by the many portals, Draenor was being torn apart.

To prevent the potential destruction of Azeroth, the archmage used Medivh's spellbook and the Skull of Gul'dan to close the Dark Portal from the other side, thereby shielding Azeroth from the final cataclysm of Draenor's destruction. Khadgar ushered the survivors into one of the rifts (he was trapped on the other side the portal when Draenor exploded and was believed to be dead).[4]

Khadgar, now an advisor to the naaru called A'dal, can be found in the center dome of the Terrace of Light of Shattrath City, located in the western borders of Terokkar Forest. He appears as an NPC representing the need of the Alliance and the Horde to work together to defeat the Burning Legion (much like the Argent Dawn in Azeroth, which encourages the rival factions to ally against the Scourge). It would appear that at some point in their travels, the Expedition encountered the naaru, and have joined their holy quest to stop the Legion in its tracks. Because of Outland's nature, it is a strategic location in the Nether, and is the perfect staging ground for Legion invasions or a resistance.

Khadgar explains to the varied races of Azeroth that although they may have withstood the Burning Legion twice, the Burning Legion is still marching across the universe continuing their Burning Crusade, an ongoing war to snuff out life in the universe, burning planets and crushing everyone in their path and that adventurers must join the fight.[5]

Khadgar's story in his own words

After touring Shattrath with his servant, this conversation opens with Khadgar:

I've heard your name spoken only in whispers, mage. Who are you?

I am Khadgar, former apprentice to the fallen Guardian, Medivh. I'm sure you've heard his name before.

It was I who discovered that Medivh had been possessed by the Evil One, Sargeras - and that he had opened the Dark Portal between this world and Azeroth. Though I honored my Master, I was forced to slay him and put his tortured soul to rest.

Go on, please.

I fought alongside Lord Anduin Lothar as we drove the Horde from our lands in Azeroth. As the heir of Medivh's legacy, I could do no less.

When the call finally came to invade this grim world - and put an end to the orcs' evil forever - I stepped forward along with my friends Turalyon, Alleria, Danath and Kurdran.

I see.

My comrades and I called ourselves the Sons of Lothar - in honor of the greatest, most selfless man we ever knew. We gave our all to defeat Ner'zhul and end his madness.

As this doomed world fell apart around us, we shattered the Dark Portal to prevent any further harm from befalling our beloved Azeroth.

What did you do then?

Trapped in this broken wasteland, we did our best to survive. Over time we sensed that a new evil was closing in around us from the Twisting Nether. More foul than the dark orcs - it was the Burning Legion itself that sought to take hold of this... Outland.

What happened next?

While my comrades held the line against the encroaching darkness, I used my magic to reach out into the Great Dark Beyond. There, I sensed beings of immense Light - of unfathomable purity.

It was A'dal and his naaru I had found. It was nothing short of... a miracle.

I see.

<Khadgar grins to himself>

I convinced A'dal and his brethren to return here with me. I believe that only their power can drive the Legion from this universe. But as you will no doubt find - their power must first live in our hearts.

To combat the darkness, we must become beacons of their eternal Light.

Wrath in Shattrath

One day an unknown odor caused havoc in Shattrath City. Khadgar was interviewed by Strombone and he told that in all his days in Outland he had never smelled such a terrible stench. He said that there were refugees from all over in this city and it would be very hard to know where it comes from.[6]

Strombone then asked if something like that had happened before, and Khadgar told him about Tobias the Filth Gorger. Finally it was discovered that Tobias was, indeed, the source of the odor.[6]

Authorship

As would be expected from an experienced and powerful mage, Khadgar has written a number of books and essays, including:

Khadgar's age and appearance

Khadgar in the WoW comic.

Medivh's curse caused Khadgar to grow old and his hair turn snow white, however in Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness and Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal, when he is first shown, he appears as a middle-aged man with a trimmed goatee and cropped red hair,. Later in the game, he is shown to have a strip of white going through his hair and a longer greying beard (much as his appearance in the artwork of Shadows & Light).

From here, one can assume that Khadgar somehow countered or at least reduced the severity of the curse, and went on to age naturally from a middle-aged man to an old man between the destruction of the Dark Portal and the events leading up to the Burning Crusade. It is also possible that he may have cropped and dyed his hair and beard shortly before the end of Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness, then let it grow out and lose the color during his time with the Alliance expedition in Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal. However, there is further confusion when we look at the monument erected in his honor in the Valley of Heroes. He is clearly shown as an old man with a long, white beard. This interpretation of him could not have been made unless this was how he was last seen since the closing of the Dark Portal.

In Beyond the Dark Portal, Khadgar states that he was cursed at age 17, and at the time of the Alliance Expedition's entering Draenor he was 22 years of age, putting him approximately in his late 30s or early 40s by Burning Crusade.

Personality

This section concerns content exclusive to the Warcraft RPG, and thus unlikely to be canon.

Khadgar was once young and excited to be following the path of magic. Now he understands the dangers; and though he has accumulated incredible magical powers, he has also paid a terrible price that causes him to act as he appears — old before his time. His words are considered and thoughtful; since the corruption of a man he considered near to a father, his trust must be earned. He continues to accumulate arcane power out of a sense of duty calling him to protect Azeroth against an evil he knows all too well, and his pursuit of both knowledge and his enemies occasionally borders on the zealous.[4][7]

Khadgar rarely enters a battle unprepared. He will retreat when needed, only to return with more than enough force to overcome his enemies. In one-on one combat, he will initially probe his opponent while raising his own defenses, then strike decisively. He is driven to utterly destroy demonic and orcish enemies, but often settles combats that arise through circumstance by simply teleporting himself or his enemies far from the field of battle.[7]

Possesions

Khadgar’s Pipe of Insight

This section concerns content exclusive to the Warcraft RPG, and thus unlikely to be canon.

Khadgar’s Pipe of Insight

The innovative archmage Khadgar created the first of these pipes while studying with acolytes in Dalaran. Though the pipe of insight can look like any pipe, it is most often made with a stem of gnarled wood and a deep bowl made of yellowed bone. Sometimes the bowl has mystical lettering or runes carved into it.[8]

Khadgar’s Gem of Health

This is a flawless sapphire, set in a platinum circlet, offset by tiny diamonds. The stones seem to glow with their own mystical life. When held or worn by a character, the flickering matches the owner’s heartbeat. The first of these special jewels was created by the archmage Khadgar to help keep him alive during his trials. Since then, others have been able to duplicate the creation.[9]

Staff of Nethergarde

This simple oak staff is engraved with arcane glyphs and topped by a globe of cloudy crystal 6 inches in diameter. The staff of Nethergarde was crafted by Khadgar while studying portal magic in the Black Morass and protecting Azeroth against another invasion by the Horde.[10]

Valley of Heroes Monument

Valley of Heroes

Khadgar's statue seen at Cataclysm cinematic.

Archmage Khadgar has since been immortalized in stone, along with the other leaders from the expeditionary force, in the Valley of Heroes in Stormwind.

Archmage Khadgar of the Kirin Tor

Former apprentice of Medivh. Supreme Commander of the Alliance Expedition that marched into the orc homeworld of Draenor. Presumed deceased.

Never did one so selflessly delve into the dark heart of magic and warfare. We wish you well, bold wanderer. Wherever you are.

References

^CGW：World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade(English). Computer Gaming World, December, 2005 by Jeff Green (2005-11-16). Retrieved on 2009-07-21. “"The Burning Crusade," says Metzen, "is the Burning Legion's ongoing war to snuff out life in the universe, to put it mildly." Khadgar explains to the varied races of Azeroth that although they may have withstood the Burning Legion twice, the bad guys are still marching across the universe, burning planets and crushing everyone in their path—and that mortal heroes (like you) must join the fight.”